Evening, throne room. The Princess of Friendship, having completed all her tasks for the day, paced back and forth, awaiting the guard. She dismissed all the guards outside the door as she decided to discuss Cozy with Flash alone to avoid rumors.
Finally, the doors swung open.
"Your Highness, I have returned!" announced Flash.
Twilight nodded to the guard.
"How is Cozy doing?" she asked.
The pegasus was surprised that the princess, ignoring all formalities, immediately got down to business. However, he chose to overlook it.
"As expected, she is angry, Princess," replied Flash.
"Strongly?" Twilight inquired.
"Enough."
"Oh, it's my fault. I should have set aside anger and resentment and defended my student a year ago. But I allowed the princesses to send Cozy to Tartarus instead of understanding her motives and helping her. Why did I give Starlight a second chance but refused the foal? Am I worthy of being the Princess of Friendship after this?" Twilight asked the guard, holding back tears as much as she could.
Flash was embarrassed. Instead of the proud and strong ruler of Equestria, confident in her decisions and destiny; instead of a fearless hero and guardian of the magic element, he saw a distraught mare in need of support. "In Tartarus, all rules, I must calm her down immediately," Flash decided, confidently approaching Twilight.
" Princess, it's not your fault! Everypony was angry at Cozy! And no one believed she could still learn friendship!" the pegasus, against all norms, embraced Twilight with his wing.
"But you listened to your heart and gave Cozy a second chance, even though she wanted to kill you. You care about her even though she hates you. I was afraid that you saw Cozy as nothing more than a threat to all of Equestria and would refuse to free her. But now I see how you want to right your wrongs and help your former student. Thank you for that, Princess!" Flash released the alicorn and bowed low.
Twilight looked admirably at the brave guard. The princess never expected Flash the pegasus, like his human counterpart, to rush to comfort her. He was an exemplary guard, and she was the ruler of Equestria. No guard in the history of Equestria had ever allowed himself such familiarity. And the alicorn's heart skipped a beat.
"Thank you, Flash! And please, call me simply Twilight!" The princess hugged the guard herself.
"Uh… alright, Prin… Twilight," the embarrassed and surprised pegasus did not expect such a reaction.
Finally, the princess remembered that she was hugging the wrong Flash and released the guard.
"Sorry if that was unexpected! I'm just too excited!" Twilight began to apologize, blushing with embarrassment.
"No… problem! I'm… glad I could help you!" Flash replied, stumbling and blushing.
"And I am glad to meet you, Flash! I am sure that by working together, we will help Cozy mend her ways!" Twilight smiled at the guard.
At this point, the princess remembered the time: in a minute, she had to lower the Sun below the horizon. Trying to conceal her panic, she turned to her new friend:
"You can go now, Flash."
"Yes, Your Highness! Good night!" bowed the pegasus and left the throne room.
As soon as the door closed, Twilight took out the medallion and concluded this day.
"Am I falling in love with Flash Guard? Or am I just missing my friend from the human world?" The princess couldn't figure out her feelings for Flash the pegasus yet.
"Enough thinking about it! Princess Celestia and Luna have entrusted me with their power. And I have accepted it. This means that I must give up personal relationships and dedicate myself to Equestria! I have no time for romantic relationships! I cannot be with any Flash! I will rule Equestria for a thousand years alone! I must forget about love!" Twilight convinced herself. Like the princesses, she believed she had to give up personal happiness for the sake of the country. But tears still flowed from her eyes. "I must forget about love!"
Reaching her chambers, the princess removed the Royal regalia, adjusted the blanket for the already sleeping Spike, and lay down on Celestia's former bed, burying her face in the pillow. "I will have to ask Luna to replace me: today, I am not able to fight the nightmares," Twilight decided, heading into the realm of dreams.
Meanwhile, in another wing of the castle, one guard couldn't fall asleep. "What happened today? How dare I hug the princess? Why did she hug me back? How could we break all the norms and rules? Do I like her? Does she like me?" Flash pondered.
The pegasus got annoyed and smacked himself on the forehead with a hoof. "Enough already thinking about all this nonsense. She is the Ruler of Equestria, destined to live for thousands of years. And I'm just a regular guard. Under no circumstances can we be together. I came here to help Cozy, not to think about the princess at night. That's it, time to sleep!" Flash ordered himself, throwing all thoughts out of his head, and eventually drifted off to sleep.